If At First You Don't Succeed
by green-rave
Summary: Luke has grown up, and the Professor has started to notice some changes in the boy.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Luke sat in his bed, jerking himself off. The thunderstorm raged outside, but he wasn't scared. He hadn't been scared of a storm for four years. Not since the professor started sleeping in Luke's bed when he got scared. Now he didn't get scared anymore, because he knew that the professor was there to protect him. But sometimes he still pretended to be frightened, just so he could be in the professor's arms for a night. Luke stroked himself faster, moaning. There was a final moment of tension before his release, then he moaned once more and wiped himself off with a tissue.

Professor Layton lay awake, listening to the sounds of the storm, his ears tuned to pick up any noise of distress from Luke's room. The boy was already sixteen, but he still sometimes got frightened while trying to sleep. A bright flash of light came from outside, followed by a rather loud clap of thunder, and Layton thought he heard a noise coming from Luke's room. He sat up, listening. He wasn't sure he had heard a noise, and he didn't want to seem too eager—barging into Luke's room every time he snuffled in his sleep. But the fact of the matter was that the professor was eager. He tried to suppress his feelings, but every time he slept with his arms around Luke, he felt just a little bit happier. It was like drinking a hot cup of tea after a very long day. The sound came again, and Layton swung his legs over the side of his bed, put on a shirt, and walked to the door.

"Luke, m'boy, are you alright?" he called, walking down the hall toward Luke's room.

Luke heard him coming and made a decision. It was a swift, dangerous, stupid, beautiful decision.

"Yes, Professor!" he called back, jumping out of bed and landing on his knees in front of the doorway, just and the professor stepped in. Luke reached around the professor and shut the door. Then he put his head in the professor's crotch and kissed him.

The professor let out a gasp. He took a step backward but bumped into the closed door. Luke crawled forward and resumed his task. After a moment the professor came to his senses. He may have been watching his young apprentice growing into a very mature young man over the past four years, but Luke was still, after all, only sixteen years old. This kind of behavior was, at least for the time being, illegal.

Layton put his hands on Luke's head and pushed it away from his—now pulsing—crotch. But Luke still had two perfectly free hands, which he proceeded to use to unzip the professor's pants, pull his underwear down, and jerk him off.

The professor was stunned for a moment or two, but he regained his composure enough to see the need for stopping Luke. Soon, though his half-hearted protests petered out, and he moved his hands to the back of Luke's head and pulled him towards himself. Luke obligingly opened his mouth and took Layton into it, sucking and licking very well for a sixteen-year-old boy.

"Where did you—oh—learn to—ah—learn to do—this?" the professor choked out between gasps.

Luke paused in his endeavor only to answer, "I practiced on myself before you came in," before taking the professor back into his mouth with increased fervor.

The professor didn't bother to think about what Luke meant. Instead he leaned back against the door and moaned while Luke sucked him off. He twined his fingers into Luke's hair and began thrusting in time with Luke's pattern. For a moment his mind drifted back to the first time he crawled into bed with Luke and wrapped his arms around him. He thought about how he had wanted nothing more than to lick his ear and stroke him, and make him whine and say his name. And then he was coming helplessly into Luke's mouth and on his face and hands, and his knees gave out and, with a whimper, he slid to the floor.

Luke held his hands up and looked at the viscous fluid covering them. After Layton caught his breath, he opened his eyes and saw Luke examining his hands.

"Luke, m'boy, it appears you've gotten yourself a bit dirty. Come, let's get you cleaned up." He took him into the bathroom and had him wash his hands and face as he leaned on the wall outside the bathroom, watching him, with his hands folded over his chest. He tried to think of what had just happened objectively, without putting his own bias on the situation. He wanted to believe Luke loved him, but it was equally possible that there was something entirely different going on. As a man of logic, Layton could not rule out any possibility without some hard facts to go off of. He decided not to push the relationship any farther than where it had gotten to that night, and see what Luke did with it on his own in the future.

When Luke was finished washing up he walked him back to his room and tucked him in. The rain was still pouring, but the thunder and lightning had ceased. Still, the professor couldn't help hoping that maybe the boy wouldn't want to sleep alone through the rain.

"Luke, is the storm frightening you?"

Luke shook his head and smiled. "I haven't been frightened of a storm for years now." He blushed a little as he added, "I only pretended to be so that you'd come sleep with me."

Layton felt his still-hard penis twitch. Luke continued, "but I don't need fear as an excuse anymore, do I, Professor? You can lie with me every night without pretending that you don't—". Luke paused when he realized he still wasn't sure of the professor's feelings for him. "You…You do love me, don't you, Professor?"

Professor Layton was so taken aback by this question that he was silent for a few moments out of sheer confusion. What did a sixteen-year-old boy know of love? For that matter, what did Layton know of love? He was by no means a virgin, but could he honestly say that he loved any of the women he had slept with? Maybe he did love Luke. But could he really trust a boy as young as Luke to love him back?

Layton chuckled lightly when he realized that he was worrying about getting hurt by Luke, when any sensible person would be worrying about Luke getting hurt by him. Luke took the chuckle the wrong way, though, as his eyebrows raised in concern and he leaned closer, repeating his question.

Layton sighed. "I believe I do love you, yes Luke, but I also believe that it's too early now to know for sure."

Luke thought for a moment, then smiled, and kissed the professor on the mouth.

_How many years I've been alive,_ Layton thought, _and still I'm amazed by the simple little things this boy does. How curious._

Luke pulled away and whispered, "I love you too, professor."

His reserve was broken. He removed his shirt and slipped into bed with Luke, wrapping his arms around the boy. Then he nibbled on the edge of Luke's ear, and Luke gasped and whined his name, and Layton knew that everything would turn out alright.

Damn his conscience.

**Author's Note:**

Man, you guys are all wimps, writing about "legal" Luke/Layton. Psht. So this is my creepy creep-creeper story about ILlegal Luke/Layton.

The next chapter is finished. It'll be up a week from today (so that's 9/23/11) if people are at all interested in it. I'm thinking there are only going to be three chapters, but we'll see what happens, and how you guys respond!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It lasted a week before Layton's conscience kicked in. He had after all, been restraining himself as much as possible so that he wouldn't end up with Luke in the very situation which he now found himself in. The problem wasn't so much that they were sleeping together. It was more that they were only sleeping together, and doing nothing else. Layton was old enough to know that he was in love with Luke, but he was concerned that he was giving Luke the wrong definition of the word. Layton, of course, knew that "love" did not equate to "sex", but he couldn't be sure that Luke knew that also. And after all, Layton was the boy's first lover. How could Luke have developed any other definition of the word? In short, Layton decided that the relationship was unsafe for Luke, and he resigned himself to break it off as soon as he could.

It was another two months before he could bring himself to do anything about it. He went back and forth on the issue at least three times a day. One moment Luke would be sipping his tea, innocent as an angel, and the next he would get up to wash his empty cup and trace his fingers along Layton's shoulders, sure and sexy, and it would send a shiver trough the professor's entire body that made him want to take of Luke's pants and fuck him right there.

The decision finally came one day when Luke decided to go for a walk. When he walked by the professor as he was heading for the door, he let his hand trail along the professor's crotch whispering, "I love you" as he did so. Those three words brought back to mind Layton's reason for finding the match so imprudent in the first place. He decided once and for all to talk to Luke and put a stop to it as soon as he returned from his walk.

"I understand, Professor," was all Luke had to say on the matter, once it was all put onto the table as clearly as could be. Luke got up to walk out of the room, and just as he reached the doorway he turned, sharing one last loving look with the professor, before turning away to hide his tears as he walked up to his room as calmly as he could.

The first four months were hell for Luke. He had nightmares of a constant flow of women in and out of Layton's bedroom, and as each of them left they bent down and pinched his cheek, commenting on how cute the little boy was. Luke woke himself up with a scream of frustration almost every night for the first two months. And then, when he realized that his night-fright no longer meant he would receive the professor into his bed, he began to cry. At first they were angry tears, but by the time the string of nightmares were finally beginning to cease, the tears had turned to plain sorrow.

The professor didn't know what Luke was screaming about, but unfailingly every night he would be awoken by a scream, followed by sobs that kept him awake for hours, tearing his heart out. He had no idea what was frightening Luke so in is sleep, and he wanted desperately to calm him, but he had a feeling that Luke's screams were caused by their break-up, and so Layton forced himself to remain in bed, listening to Luke's heart-wrenching sobs and praying for a way to make it better.

One day, about a year after they broke up, Luke brought home a girl named Sophie. After the necessary and polite introductions, Luke and the girl disappeared upstairs with Luke mumbling something about homework. Sophie wasn't over every day, but when she was, she and Luke unfailingly went straight to his room. Eventually Luke stopped bothering to pretend they had homework to do. Several times Layton walked quietly by Luke's bedroom door and heard bedsprings squeaking, hushed voices, and muffled moans. He tried not to wish it were he in Luke's bed instead of Sophie. It made him even more upset when he realized that, even though he broke up with Luke to keep him from thinking sex was the only way to express love, Luke apparently thought that anyway.

One Saturday morning, as the Professor and Luke were having their breakfast, Layton decided he should talk to him about it. If anything if would hopefully show the boy that Layton was still a person he could trust, despite everything.

"How long have you and Sophie been dating now?"

"Seven months this Tuesday," Luke answered, reaching for his tea.

"And do her parents know you two are having sex?"

Luke nearly dropped his teacup onto the floor. He managed to rescue it from its demise, but he spilled most of its contents in the process. He looked at Layton in disbelief. Layton met his gaze with one more commonly seen on the face of a man who had just asked you for the time.

Luke blinked and cleared his throat, regaining composure before answering. "No, I don't believe so."

"But do you love her?" Layton pressed.

Luke nodded slowly, unsure of what the professor was getting at.

"Then why don't her parents know what's going on? If you really love her you have no reason to fear her parents finding out about your intercourse. And besides, I don't feel comfortable withholding the knowledge of your actions from them."

Both Layton and Luke were silent for a moment, then Layton continued, "what do you two do together when you're not here?"

"Nothing, really. I don't see her much in school or on the weekends. I've got one class with her in the morning, and we eat lunch together."

"What do you talk about at lunch?"

"Class, people in our grade, the usual stuff I guess?"

"What about the weather?"

Luke narrowed his eyes in confusion. Layton sighed.

"Luke," he said, "being in love with someone means more than just having sex with them. A relationship will always fail if there's not something substantial to keep it up."

"Sex isn't substantial?"

Layton looked Luke straight in the eyes, sternly, and Luke's reaction made it clear to Layton that he could figure out the answer.

There was another moment or two of silence as Luke poured himself a new cup of tea, and after taking a sip of it he asked, "why?"

Layton had his answer prepared. "When I was your age, Luke, I had a girlfriend. We would—well, no one had sex then, but we were as intimate together as we could be without feeling as if we were breaking any societal laws. Just as you and Sophie feel you're doing, I believe. Time certainly takes its toll on morals, doesn't it?"

He waited for Luke to defend his actions with Sophie, and when Luke said nothing, he continued. "After a while, it became second nature to us. I would pay a visit to her home, make friendly with her parents for a minute or two, and then we would slip away to some park, hide in the bushes and, well, you can guess."

"So what went wrong?" Luke asked.

Layton shook his head sadly. "I suppose she just got bored. She left one day, without warning. At first I thought nothing of it, but after a day or so, I…Well, Luke, to put it bluntly, having sex requires more than what it would seem. A person really does give up a piece of their heart when they sleep with someone and, well you see, the human heart is much more fragile than we are ever taught to believe. Losing a person with whom you have been intimate is a stronger heartbreak than I have ever experienced."

"I know," Luke said, so softly Layton almost didn't hear it. The words made him want to hold the boy and never let him go, never let anything bad ever happen to him again. He took a few calm, steadying breaths before he was able to speak once more.

"From what I have gleaned of Sophie's personality from the very few interactions she and I have ever had, she is a very nice young girl. I don't see any reason you two shouldn't be happy together. I think, if you want to keep this girl, it would be wise to relate to her what I have just told to you. It may not be too late to set your relationship on the right track. Why don't you phone her now and invite her for tea or, if you would rather I not be around while you talk to her, take her out on a walk?"

Luke nodded and got up from the table, clearing his place and walking into the other room to dial Sophie's number.

When she arrived Layton made pleasant conversation with her for a minute or two, but Luke seemed anxious to be out of the house, so he let them leave.

He hoped for the best. He really did. He tried to convince himself that he believed Sophie was a nice, reasonable girl, and that she would understand the safety of restraint. Of course, he didn't expect the two young lovers to cease all sexual activity on the spot. To be honest he didn't even think that was healthy. His only hope was that they would find something solid, something time consuming, that they both enjoyed, something that would keep their relationship strong and Luke happy in love.

Luke's face, when he returned, assured Layton that Sophie had let him—let them both—down immensely. Layton immediately rose from his chair to attempt to comfort the boy, but he shook his head and walked toward the stairs. Layton watched his slow ascent helplessly. Before Luke reached the top he turned and said, "Just so you know, Professor, she wasn't the one who called it off. I did. She didn't want us to change anything, so I told her we'd better stop seeing one another." With that he turned again and retreated to his room, leaving Layton's heart aching to see a smile on Luke's face once again.

**Author's Note:**

Oops it got sad. CLIFF-HANGER!

P.S. I had one of the most awesome camping experiences ever last night (swam/almost drowned in a 68 degree lake, threw up, slept in my car) and I was still able to get this chapter finished/touched up for you to read. How awesome am I?

I've got the concept for the third chapter sort of mapped out. I hope to have it finished and up and posted a week from today (9/30/11). In the meantime, I posted another story, "It Was Only A Joke". You can find it on my profile.

If you've got the time, I'd love a review. Even just a smiley face would warm my heart. Just let me know what you guys are thinking.

Thanks!**  
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	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

In time, Luke did heal from the heartbreak Sophie caused him, but it was still two months before he could hear her name mentioned in casual conversation without stiffening up. During that time, Layton did his best to build back the lifetime of trust he had lost when he broke Luke's heart. It was slow-going, and more than once Layton felt like the little progress he was making was only possible because Luke was still healing from the loss of Sophie. It made Layton feel as if he were Luke's rebound. But the attention Layton was paying him did in fact do Luke some good. It was summer by that time, so Luke's interactions with Sophie were seldom to never. Add to that Layton there ready to act on Luke's every desire, and in no time it seemed as if he had never met Sophie at all.

Sometimes Layton would bring home a book of puzzles and they would go through it together in an hour or so, or they would play games of chess, or simply stay up late at night watching and re-watching classic films. It seemed impossible to the professor that almost two years had passed since the first time he and Luke had slept together. This realization came to Layton one night as they were re-watching one of his favorites.

Luke had fallen asleep with Layton's arm draped around his shoulder. As the credits began to roll Layton checked the clock to see how late the film had taken them. It was 11:56, and Layton vaguely remembered that the next day was Luke's birthday, and he should take him out someplace nice for dinner the following evening.

With a bit of a start, Layton thought, _it's his eighteenth birthday._ He took in a very long, slow breath, being careful not to disturb the sleeping boy on his shoulder. His mind was racing.

On the one hand, now that Luke was a legal adult, no one could look at them strangely if they decided to pick up where they left off two years ago. On the other hand, Luke's age had almost never come into play while Layton was deciding what to do about their situation. _Yes, that's right,_ he thought, _I broke up with Luke because I didn't think our relationship was healthy. We had been having so much sex, and not doing anything even vaguely couple-like in between that...but then again...the last few months...everything we've been doing...we're practically dating already...what if..._

Layton looked at the clock again. 11:57 on the dot. Layton breathed very, very slowly and counted backwards from one-hundred-and-eighty, until the clock chimed midnight. He counted the chimes one at a time, then gently shook Luke.

"Luke," the professor whispered. "Luke, wake up."

Luke stirred and opened his eyes. "Did the movie end, Professor?"

"Yes Luke, just a few minutes ago."

Luke nodded and shut his eyes again, clearly only half-awake.

"Luke, m'boy, please wake up."

"What is it, Professor?" Luke slurred, sounding half-drunk and whole-sexy.

"Look at the time, Luke."

Luke yawned and looked at the clock. It seemed to take him a moment to focus on the face. He blinked a few times before mumbling, "oh, it's m'birfday."

"Yes, that's right Luke. Happy birthday."

Luke seemed to be falling asleep again. _He's too tired right now. I can't... I have to think about this some more..._ But Layton wanted him so badly. He calmed himself with a deep breath. "Luke, let's get you up to bed."

Luke nodded and stood up slowly, clutching the professor's shoulder for support. Layton put his arm around Luke's waist, and together they slowly climbed the stairs and made their way into Luke's room.

Layton decided he should wait for Luke to get into bed before retiring to his own room, just in case Luke was too tired to make it. The professor blushed when Luke slipped off his shirt and jeans and changed into a pair of baggy pajama pants as easy as nothing, but Luke didn't even seem to notice. He walked over to his bed and lay down on top of the covers. Layton picked up the shirt and jeans Luke had dropped on the floor and dropped them unceremoniously into the hamper. He was about to leave when he noticed that Luke wasn't tucked in at all. He rolled his eyes.

"Luke," he said, "you can't sleep like that." He walked over and un-tucked the comforter from the close side of the bed, but it was stuck still on the far side. He leaned over Luke to pull the comforter down.

Then Luke's arm was snaking up Layton's back and behind his head, and getting itself tangled in his hair, and then Layton found himself staring down into eyes lidded with something that wasn't the grogginess he has assumed it was before. And then Luke opened his mouth and pulled Layton down and kissed him. Their tongues wrestled for a moment and Luke's hips pushed upwards, making contact with Layton, who was moaning gently back into Luke's mouth.

Then suddenly their clothes were off and they were beneath the covers Layton was beginning to suspect that Luke was never quite as tired as he had been pretending to be. And then Layton was inside of Luke for the first time in over twenty-three months, and he was biting Luke on the neck and Luck was moaning and moaning and then Layton hit that spot inside Luke's ass and he gasped and cried "yes, Professor, more!" and they moaned together and came together and then just lay there, breathing together.

Luke shuddered when Layton pulled himself out. Layton kissed his way down Luke's body and cleaned his stomach off with his own mouth, then kissed his way back up, all the while reveling in they boy's gasps and exclamations of pleasure.

When the two of them had finally calmed down and maneuvered themselves into a comfortable sleeping position—it was getting much harder for the two of them to share a single bed now that Luke was getting so big—Layton whispered in Luke's ear, "tomorrow, m'boy, I'm taking you out to dinner."

"And we'll talk about all sorts of things that we have in common, won't we, Professor?" Luke said, nestling his head more comfortably on Layton's chest.

"Yes, Luke. And then we'll fuck."

Luke hummed his agreement, and they fell asleep.

**A.N.**

Sorry this chapter's kinda late...

This is the last one, so I hope you enjoyed it! Check out my other stories, too!


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